I see a lot of advice out there to comics people that they should ONLY write things they create themselves.
I think this is just limited thinking.
Write what fits your needs. Consider compensation and happiness both as factors.
For many, maybe most, that means variety.
I have created several project, many of them are optioned or in development. They have enthusiastic readers. They were deeply satisfying to write. They've received lots of critical acclaim.
That's all amazing.
But.
Would I have traded my time writing Batgirl or Wonder Woman or Deadpool?
When I was a kid, even DREAMING of such a job was impossible. The first time I wrote a line for Shang Chi, I almost cried, I was so delighted.
You don't have to choose only one.
It is a weird thing about comics, but people will always tell you what you SHOULD have done moments after you accomplished the exact thing you most wanted to do.
Most of them mean well.
But my advice is simpler.
Write what makes you happy.
Write for your career, keep finances in mind, sure.
But don't choose someone else's path because they said so or because they have regrets.
Each job is a choice, weigh it as needed.
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DR. PHIL: Now, I’m just an impartial observer, okay?
PENNYWISE: Heh heh heh we all float slobber drool heh
DR.PHIL: You’re an entertainer, You do great work with kids.
PENNYWISE: come down into the sewers Georgie heh heh hee
DR. PHIL: You have a great smile, you know that?
DR. PHIL: I want to thank you for agreeing to an interview, but I warn you, I won’t be pulling ANY punches.
ZOMBIE: …
DR. PHIL: Zombie, why don’t people like you?
ZOMBIE: BRAINS
DR. PHIL: You have a thick skin.
ZOMBIE: SKIN YUM YUMMERS
DR. PHIL: Well, I’M sold.
DR. PHIL: Dr. Lecter, I’m just gonna say it. I think you got railroaded by a ‘woke’ court system and the lamestream media who focused on the word ‘cannibal,’ and—
LECTER: Excuse me.
DR. PHIL: Pardon?
LECTER: My agent set this up. You disgust me. (Leaves)
I have a Roger Corman story. It’s fun, but weird, as I am gathering most Roger Corman stories tend to be.
I was a fan of his movies and his legend and legacy.
At the very beginning of my comics career, his office contacted me.
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I was very new to writing professionally. I didn’t become a writer to make films, comics were not a stepping stone. And I had mostly been drafted, so my sense of value in myself as a writer was a bit shaky and tinged with a lot of, ‘how did I get here? What’s happening?’
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The idea that a legendary movie guy would contact me for anything made no sense. I still had my hair salon. I hadn’t even written very many comics, and I was pretty sure it was all going to go away very quickly.
I remind everyone of this each year, apologies for repeating myself.
This Saturday, May 4th, is @Freecomicbook Day! Please go and enjoy and have a wonderful time. Some great shops have sales, cosplay, events, guests, even treats planned for you, PLUS FREE COMICS!
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Howerer, this is just a gentle reminder that, unlike what many think, the stores DO have to pay for the comics they give away for free. They pay for them in bundles. This year there are dozens of individual comics being given away...imagine how much that might cost!
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But that's not all. They also pay (often outrageous) shipping on all those books.
Stores often pay for extra employees, decorations, advertising, cosplayers, guests, and lots more. It is EXPENSIVE.
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Here is my central core thought while writing Deadpool.
It is no secret that I don't like endlessly 'zany' Deadpool. He was described as 'serial killer Daffy Duck' to me early on, that's the version I don't care for.
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I also don't care for endlessly bleak, 'nothing matters,' kill everyone Deadpool.
I think that could be a thousand other characters, and it's far from the magic potion that makes Deadpool fun.
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So the Deadpool is a subverted version of both of those.
He is a goddamn loudmouth, whose humor comes from tragedy.
But he's so endlessly high energy that it saves him from being insufferable and dreary.
And ALSO so internally sad and broken that he's not a constant punchline.
Today is @Dwayne_McDuffie's birthday. He would have been 62 today, if he hadn't passed unexpectedly one day after his 49th birthday.
To me, and most everyone who knew him, Dwayne was a light we all orbited in someway. There are many great creators.
Dwayne was a giant.
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I've told this story before but it can't be overstated. I absolutely would not have this career I love, and this life I love, without Dwayne.
I am far from the only person he lifted up and put on the stairway out. Out of poverty, out of an unfulfilling career.
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You may have heard some or all of this before. But to this day, when I think of Dwayne McDuffie, I am a bundle of terrible and wonderful emotions. I smile at the fact that I got to meet him at all, and then I cry because his loss is so vast, it still seems insurmountable.
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